Doordash-gate seems to be replacing burrito-gate. The Trump administration has made commitments to help raise living standards for Americans, and much of what it has done and is doing will help young people in particular. Effects so far would have to be preliminary, and there
are no doubt things that can be done differently and better. Instead of using these dust-ups to intensify factionalism within the GOP, it would be better to explain and discuss where helpful pressure might be placed on current decision making. Comparisons of young people across
the decades can't really mean anything relevant to Trump's program.
@taimur_____ In this case those on the influencer/podcaster right are exploiting this kind of thinking, inflaming these resentments, in the interest of pursuing their own intraparty factional struggles. Specifically, to undermine the Iran war and its supporters so Vance can run against them.
@taimur_____ But this is not a longstanding grievance upon which decades of sophisticated organization building and lobbying has been based; it's very directly targeted to highlight supposed broken promises on Trump's part.
@taimur_____ In this specific thread I'm really pointing out that countering the so-called "zoomer" complaints by pointing to hard times young people had in the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc., neither blunts the complaint nor addresses whatever is real in it.
@taimur_____ Yes, but I think their aims are more precise--they want to take over the post-Trump GOP and purge their enemies. They speak openly about this, and see Vance as a vehicle for doing it.
@taimur_____ The media may not be tooled towards governance but they are tooled for political warfare—you could see them as para-political operatives. Vance will keep his distance but they’ll be messaging on his behalf.
@taimur_____ Yes, but I assume Vance supplies himself with plausible deniability—not so well, to, as we can see from his interactions and references to these people.
@taimur_____ Yes, but they may not think they’re feinting, or will need to. They may think they’re pushing the Overton Window
@taimur_____ I don’t know if they’ll succeed; I wouldn’t bet on them. I’m just saying what I see them attempting
@taimur_____ Of course, I hope you’re right and it’s all for clicks. But it seems to me in that case Vance would not be so careful around them.
@taimur_____ All very reasonable. And yet, Vance must know that he will get questions reading off a list of Carlson's statements about Trump, his administration, Jews, Christian Zionists. He can answer such questions in the mealy-mouthed way he's done so far: "Tucker's a good friend but
@taimur_____ we disagree on a lot," etc. I think at this point that would sound bizarre. Or, he could forcefully denounce and disavow Carlson, even if he cushions it a bit: "that's not the Tucker I know, I don't know what's happened to him," etc. If he's going to do that, though, why
@taimur_____ wouldn't he have already done it, rather than waiting until it looks like he's doing so out of political expediency? And I will add that Carlson seems to expect Vance not to disavow him, as he makes a point of making Vance an exception to his own denunciations of the Trump
@taimur_____ administration. Maybe Carlson is deluded, or he's bluffing, but maybe he knows something. Nothing can be proven and in a sense it doesn't matter what I think, but I can only say what I see. And it looks to me like Vance doesn't want to cut Carlson and his fan base loose.
@taimur_____ Seems like it should be easy enough and fairly cost free to take care of, then.